Verified by 
What is the one big thing that 2020 can teach us? Surely there must be a lasting lesson we can take away from such an extraordinarily eventful and stressful year. A new virus killed hundreds of thousands and ravaged economies. Racial tensions again flared up in America and this time the world protested. Conspiracy beliefs ran amok. Medical quackery enjoyed a boom year. And through all of it ran one common thread.
The ever-present crucial factor in 2020 was critical thinking. The ability and willingness to lean toward evidence and logic rather than blind trust, gossip, and emotion carried heightened value during 2020. Too little or just enough was the key metric behind the madness. Try to imagine the immense toll tied to sloppy thinking in 2020.
People minimally wise enough to routinely demand evidence did not fall for the “5G-towers-caused-COVID," “Bill Gates did it” or the “pandemic-is-just-the-flu” claims. In addition to real pain and suffering, how much wasted time and unnecessary anxiety did baseless beliefs inflict on humankind over the last 12 months? Distractions and wasted time can be costly when stakes are high.
Every minute worrying about nefarious microchips in vaccines is time not spent intelligently evaluating risk and assessing evidence. Every day sacrificed at the altar of Q-Anon belief is a day lost to possible political progress for all. Anyone not committed to critical thinking in 2020 was under constant assault from deluded or dishonest politicians and probably lost the plot many times. Those who were not dutifully skeptical and selective about choosing news sources likely ended up as sad cannon fodder in one culture war or another. It doesn’t have to be like this. We can do better.
The good news is that critical thinking and skepticism are available to anyone, regardless of education, wealth, nationality, or social status. Knowledge of cognitive biases and essential skills certainly matters, but generally anyone can enjoy immediate benefits simply by deciding to think before believing. It is this single personal choice that is key. In my books Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser and Think: Why you should question everything, I detail many fundamental steps to thinking well amidst so much delusion and fraud. Here are five of my favorites. These are the least we all should be armed with daily:
1. The Call of the Herd. We are social beings. A place in the herd feels good and safe, but what if everyone around you is marching toward a cliff? Recognize how easily we all can be swayed by popular support of an idea, even when that idea is destructive or ridiculous. Remember that popular vote does not determine truth and reality.
2. Wishful Thinking. We desire somethings so much that it becomes easier to believe them to be true. This is a powerful human compulsion. Respect it. Ask yourself: “Am I accepting this new claim because it makes sense and is supported by enough credible evidence? Or could it be so convenient, useful, or comfortable that I am willing to pretend to know that it’s true?”
3. Authority Worship. We humans reflexively bow down before authority, mentally if not physically. This has been a significant problem during the pandemic. A confident politician or any random chiropractor on YouTube seemed capable of convincing millions of people of virtually anything in 2020, no matter how absurd or unlikely. Our obsession with social rank and power burdens us with a significant blind spot. Be aware of it. Don’t let a uniform, white lab coat, fancy hat, or dominant posture hoodwink you into believing nonsense or buying a junk product.
4. Speed Kills. Quick thinking is commonly considered a virtue, but speed is not your friend when it comes to processing news and information. Slow down, think twice, and always reconsider. Challenge yourself before accepting exciting or convenient information as true. Always be willing to change your mind when it becomes clear your judgment was in error. Few things are sadder and more pathetic than someone who stubbornly clings to a sinking idea. Don’t be that guy. Abandon ship whenever appropriate.
5. The Emotion Potion. We are emotional creatures. This is great, it adds so much to our existence. But emotions often lead us to make irrational decisions, embrace ridiculous ideas, and behave in ways that work against our best interests. Emotions can nudge us without notice or blatantly intoxicate our minds, often making us dumber than we need to be. I’m not suggesting we all go full Vulcan, but steady vigilance is necessary. Emotions will seduce, scare, and trip up the unguarded mind with ease.
During trying and dangerous times no one should be wasting valuable neural-network bandwidth on nonsense. Trying our best to think like scientists in everyday life will not make us invulnerable to mental missteps, but it will better the odds for favorable outcomes. Good thinking helps everything. Poor thinking hinders progress, reduces efficiency, and creates risk. This was the great lesson of 2020.
Will you remember it in 2021?
Books about critical thinking:
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark, by Carl Sagan
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: How to Know What's Really Real in a World Increasingly Full of Fake, by Steven Novella
Critical Thinking: Pseudoscience and the Paranormal, by Jonathan C. Smith
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts and Gods to Politics and Conspiracies, by Michael Shermer
Caveman Logic: The Persistence of Primitive Thinking in a Modern World, by Hank Davis
Scientific Paranormal Investigation: How to Solve Unexplained Mysteries, by Ben Radford
Think: Why You Should Question Everything, by Guy P. Harrison
Good Thinking: What You Need to Know to Be Smarter, Safer, Wealthier, and Wiser, by Guy P. Harrison
Think Before You Like: Social Media's Effect on the Brain and the Tools You Need to Navigate Your Newsfeed, by Guy P. Harrison
Recommended magazines:
Psychology Today
Skeptic
Skeptical Inquirer
Free Inquiry
